-Caveat Lector- Even liberal Democrats contempate leaveing the sinking ship of Clinton-Gore. What Next? Democrat Smith: Why I'm Voting for Nader Sam Smith Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000 € Democrats these days are just pro-choice Republicans. € Third parties move politics in their direction even when they don't win. The Green Party already has; that's why Gore is pretending to be a populist. € If it only takes Al Gore two weeks to become a populist, he could become a right-wing nut even quicker. € I don't think a guy who grew up ordering breakfast from room service would make that good a populist, anyway. € While Clinton will be gone in January, all those people who have been covering up for him will still be around. I'm tired of hearing Joe Conasan, Lannie Davis, and Eleanor Clift making lame excuses for corrupt Democrats. € If I vote Democratic I'm afraid I might be liable under the RICO anti-racketeering statutes. € I voted for Clinton in 1992, which proves my prescience isn't so hot. This time I'm going to trust my conscience instead. € Nader hasn't lied to me. No major candidate can make that claim. € Nader has done more good for America than Gore, Bush, Cheney, and Lieberman put together. € Nader isn't afraid to debate Gore and Bush, but they're afraid to debate him. € Nader promises he'll end the drug war. Gore and Bush only promise they've ended their drug use. € Nader is the only one of the three who supports public campaign financing, proportional representation, national health care, and an end to the death penalty. € Nader is the only one of the three who seems truly concerned about the planet, our democracy, and the constitution. € I think the planet, democracy, and the constitution are at least as important issues as abortion. It's not Nader's fault that women's groups wasted their time running interference for a corrupt administration led by a major sexual predator instead of coming up with a strong candidate who would protect the right to choose. € If President Gore says we're in a crisis, how can I tell he's not just exaggerating again? € Pro-Gore commentators keep saying that third parties are ineffective, unimportant, and meaningless. In fact, while third party candidates often lose, their programs often win. From the Populist Party, for example, the Democrats stole the ideas of a graduated income tax, direct election of the Senate, civil service reform, pensions, and the eight-hour workday. Not a bad list of accomplishments for a party that got just 8.5 percent of the vote in its only national race. € Clinton and Gore spoiled the Democratic Party long before Nader decided to run. More major Democratic officeholders lost their posts or switched to the GOP under Clinton and Gore than during any Democratic administration since Grover Cleveland. € I'm not worried about wasting my vote. I wasted my vote on Stevenson, Muskie, Mondale, and Dukakis. In 1992, I really wasted my vote by voting for Clinton. I can't do any worse than that. € The Clinton-Gore administration has had the most number of convictions of, and guilty pleas by, those close to it; the most number of Cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation; the most number of witnesses to flee the country or refuse to testify; and the greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions. € There have been 47 individuals and businesses connected with the Clinton machine who have been convicted or pleaded guilty to such things as drug trafficking, racketeering, extortion, bribery, tax evasion, kickbacks, embezzlement, fraud, conspiracy, fraudulent loans, illegal gifts, illegal campaign contributions, money laundering, perjury, and obstruction of justice. And those are just the ones who got caught. € My parents told me to stay away from people like that. € Too many people who didn't stay away have ended up publicly trashed, blacklisted, hurt in some way, in jail, or dead. € For eight years the Democrats have ignored, discounted, and dissed progressives like me. Now they say it's essential for us to vote for Gore. If they want us so badly in November, why weren't they nicer to us in May? € The Clinton-Gore people get mean when they think. € Liberal Democrats have repeatedly said that the Clinton-Gore administration was the best they could possibly hope for. I came to believe them. That's when I decided to take my politics elsewhere. € How can we expect politicians to follow their conscience if we don't set a good example? € In a couple of years, I want to get one of those bumperstickers that reads "Don't blame me; I voted for Nader." € If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got. I'm going to try something different. Sam Smith is editor of Washington's "most unofficial source" the Progressive Review. An unabashed liberal Democrat, he can be read online at prorev.com. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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